After both Christine Cattryse and her father’s kayaks capsized, a successful rescue effort was launched 0

Christine Cattrysse wanted her 1,000th geocaching treasure to be memorable.

The Aylmer-area woman got more memories than she’d bargained for.

Cattrysse, 44, and her 71-year-old father, Bryan Baker of Delaware, set out on the Thames River in their kayaks and found the small mid-river island with its plastic box and logbook where she recorded the milestone find of her treasure-hunting hobby.

But it was farther downstream that the Thames had a few more surprises in store: the river narrowed, the current grew stronger and her dad’s kayak flipped after hitting a fallen tree.

“He went under and the kayak just disappeared downstream,” Cattrysse said. When she paddled over to help, her kayak flipped too.

The pair were able to cling to the tree.

Her father pulled himself up on the trunk, but there were no branches to hang onto and no way to return to shore.

“He was in quite the pickle,” Cattrysse said.

“I felt like an idiot. The water wasn’t moving fast where we went in and I thought we were safe, but you never know,” she said.

Fortunately, she still had her cellphone and it was working. Two passing kayakers shouted to her their location — somewhere between Delaware and Komoka — and she called 911.

Emergency responders were on the scene in about 10 minutes. “They were awesome, absolutely awesome,” she said.

Baden Roth owns the farm near Delaware where Cattrysse and her father capsized and watched the rescue. “All of a sudden there was fire trucks, police and ambulance come right onto our farm. It was crazy,” Roth said.

Firefighters launched a pontoon boat, but had difficulty getting to the pair, he said.

“The current was so strong they kept overshooting. It was intense,” Roth said.

They were rescued with just bumps, bruises and scrapes to show for the ordeal.

“We are good, we are safe and sound,” Cattrysse said during the weekend, hours after the Friday evening ordeal.

Cattrysse plans to continue geocaching with her father — her goal is to find one cache a day for a year — but they will likely skip hunts involving water.

And if she takes to the water again, it will be on smaller, slower creeks.

“I think I am going to stay away from the Thames River. My dad says he doesn’t think he wants to kayak anymore,” she said.

They have given up hopes of finding his missing kayak, a blue Pelican model.

Cattrysse said if anyone comes across it and wants to return it. they can call her at 519-773-5405.